The present invention relates to a shield for a rainwater gutter assembly or a eaves trough.
The use of shields for gutters or eaves troughs is well known in the prior art and there have been many proposals for different types of shields. The purpose of the shield is essentially to permit passage of rainwater from the roof to the eaves trough while protecting the same from extraneous foreign matter such as leaves and the like.
To date, there have been several different approaches taken. A first approach is utilizing a shield or a guard which is apertured and permits the passage of rainwater while ostensibly barring the passage of extraneous material. However, many of these guards do not function as desired and access must still be had to the eaves trough for cleaning purposes. Also, each one must be fabricated to the particular size of eaves trough.
It has also been proposed in the art to provide relatively complex structures wherein the eaves troughs are mounted for rotatable movement such that they may be emptied at desired intervals.
There have also been proposed gutters having a design wherein a cover has an outer edge which curls downwardly and the water flow follows the curved portion due to surface tension to cascade into the eaves trough. However, this concept will not necessarily work when the volume of water becomes sufficiently large that the surface tension is insufficient to cause all the water to flow into the gutter.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel gutter guard which is designed to fit many different sizes of eaves troughs.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a gutter for a eaves trough wherein the rainwater may enter the gutter but virtually all foreign matter is excluded.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device for protecting a gutter wherein the gutter has a rear wall, a front wall, a bottom wall, the walls defining a trough therebetween, the device comprising a mounting member, means for securing the mounting member to the gutter, a guard member having an elongated configuration with first and second longitudinally extending opposed sides, a first side of the guard member being engageable with the mounting member to prevent substantial vertical movement of the guard member while permitting horizontal movement thereof to allow adjustment of the guard member for an individual gutter width, and wherein the guard member has a substantially planer portion between the first and second sides, the substantially planer portion having a plurality of apertures extending therethrough.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided, in combination, a gutter having a rear wall, a front wall, and a bottom wall, the rear wall, front wall and bottom wall defining an open top trough, the gutter being attached to a structure by means of an attaching member extending through the front and rear walls to the structure, and a device for protecting the gutter, the device comprising a mounting member, means for securing the mounting member to the attaching member, a guide member having an elongated configuration with first and second longitudinally opposed sides, a first side of the guard member being engageable with the mounting member to prevent substantial vertical movement of the guard member while permitting horizontal movement thereof to allow adjustment of a width of the guard member between the front and rear walls, and wherein the guard member has a substantially planer portion between the first and second sides, the substantially planer portion having a plurality of apertures extending therethrough.
The device of the present invention may be formed of any suitable material and would conveniently be formed either of a metallic or plastic material. Thus, both materials are known for use in gutters and one may use either a similar or dissimilar material.
The device of the present invention provides a guard for the eaves trough to prevent foreign matters from entering into the eaves trough through the appropriate sizing of the apertures formed therein. In this respect, the aperture size and their placement permit them adequate drainage of the water through the apertures into the eaves trough while substantially excluding a foreign matter which remains on the top and would normally be removed by wind and the like. The size of the apertures prevents clogging of the device.
The apertures preferably extend in diagonal lines at an angle of 45xc2x0 with respect to the gutter length. In the preferred embodiments, the apertures have an aperture of between 2.5 and 10 mm and even more preferably between 3.0 and 4.0 mm. As the apertures are arranged in diagonal rows, they are also preferably arranged in longitudinally extending rows. In a longitudinally extending row, the apertures are spaced apart by a distance of between 10 and 15 mm while in a diagonal row, they are spaced apart by a distance of between 5 and 10 mm.
As will be appreciated, during a period of heavy rain or the like, the drainage may not be instantaneous and accordingly, there is preferably provided a vertically extending wall adjacent the front wall of the gutter to prevent overflow.